(April 28, 2011)--The University of Texas at San Antonio and the Universita degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo" (UNIURB) of Urbino, Italy, recently entered into an agreement of cooperation in Urbino.

Professor Stefano Pivano, president of UNIURB, and Julius M. Gribou, UTSA executive vice provost and senior international officer, signed the agreement based on the strategic plans of both institutions. The agreement centers on collaboration and expanding global outreach and understanding.

The initiation of the agreement was facilitated by John Murphy, dean of the UTSA College of Architecture, who will relocate one of the architecture Italy study-abroad programs to Urbino in fall 2011. The Italian co-organizers of the new COA program, Mirko Marinelli and Eugenia Esposito, played a critical role assisting UTSA in finalizing the agreement.

"This location presents a great opportunity for the College of Architecture students," said Gribou. "They will live on the UNIURB campus, will use their facilities such as dorms and classrooms, and they will be able to interact with Italian students."

Gribou would like the Urbino location eventually to become a UTSA study-abroad center in Italy that would include programs and students from a variety of majors at UTSA.

In addition to the connections available for the College of Architecture within UNIURB, the city of Urbino and the region, there are logical opportunities for collaborations with UNIURB programs in art conservation, planning and development, sciences, technology, humanities, education and business. Thirty UTSA students could study each semester on the Urbino campus in the available facilities.

Urbino has approximately 15,000 residents. The city's population more than doubles when the university is in session. The historic Renaissance center of Urbbino is among the world sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The city walls were rebuilt to specifications of Leonardo da Vinci, according to the UNESCO website.

The University of Urbino dates to 1506, when Duke Guidobaldo I founded the Collegio dei Dottori. Current enrollment is approximately 20,000. Students and faculty are encouraged to develop close collegial relationships. The state university has 10 colleges including economics, humanities and philosophy, modern languages and literature, science and technology, and education. The university also offers several distance-learning programs accessible worldwide.

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